The Buffalo Hunter (Part 3)
Strive Masiyiwa
Image caption: "Every time you make the hard, correct decision you become a bit more courageous..." Ben Horowitz // Strive Masiyiwa Social Media (Facebook)
__Returning to the scene of the failed hunt
Almost a year had gone by since the disastrous hunt which nearly cost the lives of both the hunter and his student. In all that time, the two had not spoken.
The professional hunter was initially angry because the student had not been paying attention to all the things he had drilled into him for months, whilst the student vacillated between embarrassment for his stupidity and anger towards the hunter for [in his view] not training him well enough.
Then one day out of the blue, the hunter called him and said, “Do you want to try again?”
“Yes, please!” the student replied eagerly, shocked that he would even be given another chance.
Before he could say anything further, the hunter warned: “I’m only taking you if you first tell me everything you learnt from the failed hunt!"
The student started thinking fast, expecting to be quizzed by the hunter right then and there.
"When they don’t kill you," the hunter continued, "mistakes can be our best teacher."
The student looked down at his feet, still embarrassed.
"We will first return to the scene of the hunt and spend five days just reviewing what went wrong. I also made mistakes and I would even like to share those with you.”
Now let's return to #Entrepreneurship:
A venture capitalist in Silicon Valley once told me: “I prefer to invest in entrepreneurs who have FAILED before bringing me their latest venture. I focus on getting to know from them what are the #Learnings from their failures in previous ventures”.
This is “Iron Mike” stuff; the ability to show that you can take punches.
Some of the most creative entrepreneurs I've ever met were not the guys with the greatest ideas but the ones who could take punches to the chin, fall over, and get up to fight on!
Do you have it in you to do that?
Being an entrepreneur from Africa comes with an extra layer of difficulty that I won’t bother to talk about here, lest I discourage some of you even further.
While opportunities right now are actually huge, to be successful, our future requires us to produce entrepreneurs schooled in the crucible of hard knocks, who still [unflinchingly] retain the highest possible integrity.
3 Key Business Lessons
Returning to a failure can provide invaluable lessons that shape future success. Entrepreneurs should embrace their mistakes rather than shy away from them, as analyzing what went wrong can uncover insights that drive growth and improvement. This reflection not only identifies weaknesses but also strengthens the entrepreneur’s ability to pivot and adapt strategies effectively.
The importance of resilience in entrepreneurship cannot be overstated. The ability to recover from setbacks, learn from failures, and continue pursuing goals is a crucial trait for successful entrepreneurs. Cultivating a mindset that views challenges as opportunities to learn and grow allows business leaders to navigate the unpredictable landscape of entrepreneurship with greater confidence and tenacity.
Investors often prioritize entrepreneurs who have faced and overcome failure, valuing the lessons learned from those experiences. Building a reputation for integrity and perseverance amidst challenges can greatly enhance an entrepreneur’s appeal to potential investors. Sharing personal stories of resilience not only fosters trust but also demonstrates the capacity to lead through adversity, making a business more attractive to potential stakeholders.
Afterthoughts
"Remember that life's greatest lessons are usually learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes". Author unknown
#ThankYou
My appreciation to each and all of you for the warm and kind notes you sent me here for my birthday... Messages from across the continent from friends, colleagues, the #JuniorClass, the #SeniorClass (now well graduated after 12+ years here), and the #MasterClass #Entrepreneurs amongst you, too. Grateful to hear from you and how you are doing! You make me proud.
#SolutionSeekers #EntrepreneurIt #EaglesInTheStorm
I have been back to the scene of many failed buffalo hunts. I don’t return when the emotions are still raw and there is a lot of recrimination.
Because I’m a spiritual person, I’m able to draw on things like fasting and prayer with meditation to get me to a place of humility. Then [always] I go back to see what positives [#Learnings] I can take away.
Some of my greatest businesses were actually born through this process.
Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good toward those who love God…”
One of my favourite personal affirmations from my faith approach is this: “I don’t suffer loss if there is an opportunity to learn something”.
When we launched our media platform a few years back, we thought we had a great product, and everyone agreed, but many people were simply not prepared to pay for it. We could not launch an ad-supported model because we had currency challenges and did not have a proper payment platform.
We did not have enough capital to stay the course without destroying our entire group’s balance sheet. It was painful to order that it be shut down.
When I returned to the scene of the failure, I discovered gold, but that is not for today.
Have the courage to take the punches that come with failure, and find gold through proper, methodical, unemotional review of what went wrong.
Two of my senior executives once ran their own successful businesses but struggled with something I had uniquely mastered. So I asked them to join me. I'm always on the lookout to hire skilled entrepreneurs. I do not like to hire people who are simply looking for so-called “job security”!
If you are someone who cares a lot about what people think or say about you, then you will not be able to unlock your full potential as an entrepreneur.
I would go as far as to say you will not rise again when punched in the face.
The need to "hold up appearances" hurts a lot of African entrepreneurs during hard times, because they will not make the necessary hard decisions they need to take.
Self-pride is an enemy to real success; do not succumb to it.
“No one does that to me!” is pride speaking.
“What will people think or say?!" is pride speaking.
And about those people who you worry might laugh at you... If they do, they are already certified failures!
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